Robert Hodges receives life in prison for West Sacramento triple homicide

Robert Hodges sentenced for deaths of his three children

By
Sarah Dowling, Woodland Daily Democrat

Friday, January 19, 2018

Robert Hodges will spend the rest of his life in prison for the slaying of his three children and attempted killing of his wife last September.

Yolo County Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg called Hodges a “Jekyll and Hyde” in that up until that day in his West Sacramento apartment, the 32-year-old had been a loving father and husband but then turned into a “serial killer of your own children.”

Victim impact statements read in open court echoed this — friends and family members described him as a good man and expressed sorrow to not only losing the children, but losing him as well.

“We knew him as a good man before all this,” a family friend said, holding back tears. “We loved him and thought of him as family.... We are mournful of the loss of you.”

She went on to explain the “intense, immeasurable pain” that she has experienced and that she is “broken to the very core” by his actions.

With his back turned to the packed courtroom audience, Hodges apologized, his voice breaking.

“I apologize to everyone I have hurt with my crime,” he said. He apologized to his wife, Mai, for “destroying the life we built together” and for taking away her children.

“My crimes are unforgivable,” he said, “but I will spend the rest of my life in prison begging for forgiveness. I love you all and I am sorry that I failed you.”

With that, Rosenberg told him “God may forgive you, but the court does not.”

Rosenberg emphasized that in his 15 years as a judge, this was the “darkest, most depraved case I have ever handled.” He spoke these words before sentencing Hodges to life in state prison without the possibility of parole.

This hearing shined a light on financial hardship as a possible motive. An interview between Hodges and detective Eric Palmer delved into this.

“His plan was to eliminate the entire family and that will take care of all their problems,” Palmer recalled during the October hearing. His interview with Hodges revealed the West Sacramento father’s plan to murder his wife, their three children and to commit suicide on to escape rising debt and credit card bills.

However, Hodges was only able to execute a portion of his plan, which he shared with Palmer in great detail, describing how he went about each killing, admitting he “had murdered his family.”

The triple homicide shook the West Sacramento community. A vigil was held in the parking lot of the Southport Elementary School, where Julie and Kelvin were students.

As the sun set over the school, the candles that adorned the hands of children, parents and teachers flickered, illuminating the faces of the hundreds who attended.